


High School Doesn't Suck (that bad)

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 13:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20976908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Steve thinks his best friend has been dead for 5 years, which is why it is such a surprise when he shows up on the first day of junior year and puts his books in Steve's locker as if nothing ever happened.Locker partner Stucky AU[Written as ship but can be read platonically]





	High School Doesn't Suck (that bad)

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: cussing and description a character getting hit by a car

Bucky was the best guy Steve knew.

Okay, well, maybe at 12 years old he wasn't the best judge of character, but he couldn't imagine ever finding a friend as good as Bucky. 

He came to this conclusion in third grade when Bucky was clutching a bloody nose, and Steve was asking him, teary eyed. "Why'd you do that, Buck?! Why'd you jump in, huh? I coulda taken him! Why'd ya do that?" 

Bucky easily replied, "'Cause I'm with you to the end of the line, pal."

They'd been best friends since.

Even when Steve missed school to be sick at home or in the hospital, Bucky brought books and homework and would sit by Steve and tell him stupid jokes that hurt his ribs. His best friend in the world, if not his only friend.

Or at least Steve thought, until he disappeared. Or died. He still wasn't sure.

It was an early Saturday morning in July, the summer before they both started middle school. Bucky dragged Steve out of bed and they rode their bikes down to the park. Bucky had some money stuffed in his pocket so he bought them ice cream and they sat on the swingset. He got cotton candy, Steve got chocolate.

"Hey Steve, I got something to say."

Steve looked over. Bucky was looking intensely at his ice cream and fiddling with his spoon all nervous like. "Ok?"

Bucky swayed a little on the swing. "I uh-um-I- actually nevermind. You wanna see who can swing the highest?"

It was noon when they were heading home on their bikes. Nothing should have happened. It was a sunny slow Saturday. Steve was telling some dumbass joke he heard on TV. Bucky was riding a bit ahead, crossing the street. They had the green light. He turned his head to look at Steve.

Steve saw the truck not stopping. He saw it and he couldn't say anything in time. He opened his mouth. He-

Bucky shouldn't have been hit by a truck.

And, god forbid anyone think of Bucky as anything but the responsible boy he was, because the driver had been on the phone. His wife was at home and his kids were crying and he didn't know what to make for dinner. He ran a red light.

Immediately, his bike was crushed under the tires. At the force of the impact Bucky flew off his bike, and his head hit the pavement with a sick thud that rattled Steve's bones.

"Bucky!"

The driver jumped out of his car. "Ah shit. Fuck. Shit. Kid? Can you hear me? Shit. Don't move him! I'm calling 911." 

Steve glared, "Fuck you!" but he listened. He knelt beside Bucky, pretended he wasn't getting his knees wet in a pool of blood growing around his head, and cried. His ribs hurt and he was on the brink of an asthma attack but he didn't move from his side until the ambulance showed up and he was shooed away by paramedics. 

…

Steve went home that day and cried again as soon as he walked in the door. He cried to his mom while she hugged him. He cried while taking off his blood stained pants. He cried himself to sleep. He woke up the next morning and cried. 

He didn't leave the house all day. His mom tried to cheer him up but she had to go to work. He wanted to talk to Bucky, and if he couldn't talk he just wanted to know if he was okay. God, he could be dead at the hospital. He texted him on his iPod that morning but he still didn't get a reply. He called the Barnes house but no one picked up. He called again a few hours later. No answer.

He skyped Peggy, a girl from England who stayed in Brooklyn for a few months and went to his school. She hung out with him and Bucky all the time and later Steve admitted he might have had a small crush on her. 

Peggy picked up on the second ring. He told her what happened. She said she thought it was terrible and she hoped he'd be okay. "He's strong, right Steve? Give James some credit, he'll pull through this." Peggy was always good with words. Steve thanked her and hung up.

The next day he took his bike to Bucky's house. It was so hot he thought he was gonna die, and he had to stop a few times and take a puff of his inhaler. He lived twelve blocks down and two blocks right.

What Steve found there made him feel sick. A big white sign stood in the front lawn reading "FOR SALE". It was covered by a bright read sticker reading "SOLD". The date was from last month. Bucky never said he was moving. Come to think of it, Steve hadn't been over to his house in weeks.

He knocked on the door anyways. No one was home. The lights were off. There were no cars in the driveway.

Steve sat on the porch and cried again.

…

People always said high school was going to be the worst time of your life, but by the end of his first year Steve disagreed with a passion. If anything, he was in his prime. His glory days. He'd peaked at 15 and he wasn't even mad about it.

Following the world's biggest growth spurt in eighth grade, things were looking up for Steve Rogers. His mom had gotten a promotion and didn't have to work long shifts everyday. His asthma eased off and he could start working out without keeling over and dying. He was still pretty self conscious about his body, and sometimes when he looked in the mirror he didn't recognize himself with the extra twenty pounds he'd put on in the past year, but that was puberty and tried not to think too much about it

His first day of ninth grade was swell. So swell he had made three new friends without really trying. He couldn't even remember making a friend in his life- Bucky didn't count as he just kind of… let himself into Steve's life and didn't leave. Until he did. Anyways, Steve made friends and it felt good.

The first friend he made was Sam. When he got to school on the first day, someone was already standing at his locker and he panicked. He didn't have anyone from middle school to register with so he knew he'd be with some random, but now that he was here and confronting this person it was an entirely different ballpark.

Each step was painful, but he managed to walk up to the guy and tap his shoulder.  
The kid turned and looked in the completely wrong direction.

"Uh, on your left." 

He jumped, then turned to face Steve. "Need something my dude?"

My dude? Steve stared at him. "I think we're locker partners." The boys face broke into an easy grin.

"Oh, of course! I'm Sam Wilson." Steve took Sam's hand in a firm handshake.

"Steve Rogers." 

"Well Steve, I already put my lock on, but I can text you the combination." 

"I don't have your number."

"Well. That's a problem. Give me your phone."

Steve smiled a bit and handed it over. He was taller than Sam which was weird. Being taller than people was still weird. Sam gave him his phone back. "Oh yeah, we're friends now."

"Oh yeah? Says who?" Steve shoved his stuff into the locker alongside Sam's. Despite what he said, he felt touched.

"Says me. I just moved here from DC and you seem like a solid guy Mr Rogers. Where are you from anyway?" 

"Oh uh… I'm from here. Brooklyn. I just didn't have anyone to pair up with."

Sam smiled not unkindly. "Well, now your stuck with me so get used to it. Do you have Instagram? I got some memes I think you'd like." 

Steve in fact did not have Instagram, but he didn't get the chance to tell Sam as the bell went for first period. They soon found out that they had the class together and talked all the way there. Most of it was Sam mocking Steve's lack of knowledge on internet culture, ("What the hell man, you don't even know pepe?") but Steve appreciated Sam more than he could say, as this was the first time someone besides his mom actually wanted to talk to him in three years.

During first period, Steve made his second friend. Natasha.

Another misconception about highschool was that it was much more difficult than middle school. Steve also found this to be a lie, as his first day was excruciatingly boring. 

His first period class was English, and after a brief introduction from his teacher him and Sam spent the whole time laughing at memes on Sam's phone. This managed to draw the attention of the redhead sitting in front of Steve, as she turned around and said, "Are you going to be like this all year or do I have to move seats now."

Steve looked up, blue eyes meeting sea green, and he tried to pull a straight face. "Sorry, ahah- sorry. We'll be quieter. Sorry to disturb you." 

The girl rolled her eyes. "At least show me what's so funny."

That's how Steve ended up spending his first period of highschool looking at internet memes with Sam and Natasha-but-call-me-Nat.

At lunch Steve met Clint, his third friend of the day.

Him and Sam showed up with their lunch bags to the cafeteria and sat with Natasha, as agreed on in first period. After a few minutes a disheveled looking kid shows up, sandwich in hand with no container or lunch bag in sight, and plops down next to Nat without a word.

Sam looks at him, looks at Steve, looks at Natasha, looks back at Steve before waving at the kid. "Hey bro I'm Sam."

"Nice to meet you man. I'm Clint." He takes a bite of his sandwich nods at Natasha. "We're middle school buddies."

"I have no idea who this man is."

Sam laughs while Steve extends a hand. "Steve Rogers."

Clint shakes his hand, but looks at Steve a little funny. "Do I know you from somewhere?' 

"Uh-"

"Yeah! Steve Rogers, right? As in, author of Captain America, Steve Rogers?" 

Steve was taken aback. Captain America was a little passion project that began in eighth grade when he started posting little comic strips to Webtoon. It wasn't much, just one strip every two weeks following a hero, Captain America, and his best friend turned brother in arms the Soldier as they killed Nazis and kicked ass. Its gained a sizable following over the past 8 or so months it's been up, but Steve never imagined he'd meet someone in real life who reads it.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Dude!" Clint exclaimed. "You have no idea how big of a fan I am! Holy shit!" 

"You draw?" Sam asked. 

Steve ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess. I donno. My next class is art."

Natasha smiled. "Oh thank god. I'm in that class too and I suck. You're doing all my assignments."

"What? No. That's academic dishonesty!" Steve replied, affronted.

She laughed. "Don't worry. I'll pay you."

In that case… maybe he'd consider it.

…

As time went on Steve made more friends. In his tech class he met Tony Stark, son of rich as hell Howard Stark, who wanted to go to public school just for the experience. He took a liking to Steve for his work ethic and "old person-ness" after they partnered up for a project and he started eating lunch with them too.

More people trickled into their lunch table. Thor Odinson, a hulking Norwegian kid who Steve somehow befriended in math class, now sat with them too. Along with Tony came Bruce Banner, who they all soon realized was a genius and started copying his homework. Everyone except Steve, anyways. He liked Bruce a lot. He was quiet and soft-spoken but you could tell he had a temper and could go off on anyone who talked bad about his friends, which Steve admired.

In the second week of school Sam started talking about joining the football team, and he wanted Steve to join with him. Steve was reluctant. He'd never played any sports in his life, and he still had asthma, but Sam was so excited and told Steve his height and strength would make him an "invaluable asset to the team" and wow when did his biceps get that big he needs to lay off the bicep curls.

In the end he joined the football team, and he had a good time. It was almost like the fights he got into all the time back in elementary school, except now he was big enough to actually push people down and take hits himself. By the end of the season, Steve had become a starter on the junior team, and it felt good to be a part of a team.

He also joined the art club, and surprisingly Clint joined with him. They mostly goofed off but the art teachers already loved Steve so they didn't care. He showed Clint how to draw Captain America and Clint showed him how to twist his tongue into a circle and do card tricks.

When the school year ended, Steve had, unthinkably, a friend group. They did stuff outside of school together, whether it was bowling or going to McDonald's or piling into Tony's massive home theatre and watching the Office. They texted and sent memes into their group chat. They ate lunch together everyday.

A few days after school ended, Steve had the six of them over to his house to hang out. His mom was so happy to meet them that she made a huge homemade lasagna and hugged each one as they came in. 

Sitting at the dinner table and seeing Sam and Clint fight over the last piece of lasagna, Tony talking away to Natasha while she kicked Clint under the table, Thor telling him how he admired his home decor and Bruce making polite conversation with his mom, Steve couldn't help but feel a kind of warmth inside he hadn't felt since Bucky left.

...

A few weeks before sophomore year is over, Sam told Steve his best friend from DC, Riley, was moving to New York, and he wanted to be locker partners with Sam.

"Oh, that's fine. I don't mind."

Sam looked guilty. "I'm so sorry to put you out like this. You know we can share three ways. It might be a squeeze with the football gear but not impossible."

"You know that's against the rules! But it's okay, really. I'm sure whoever I get will be a decent guy." He pats Sam on the back and grabs his books for fifth period.

…

The first day of junior year was a bit like deja vu for Steve. He got to school early like everyone else did on the first day and saw an unfamiliar figure standing at his locker already. He had shaggy dark hair down to his shoulder and his posture was slumped. Oh boy.

Feeling much less awkward than he did as a freshman, he approached the kid and said "hey". Said kid turned around, and-

"Bucky?"

"Who the hell is Bucky?" He asked, and his voice was the same, and Steve was sure it was him.

"Uhh… you? It's me, Steve?" He replied, unsure.

"Oh. Steve. Of course. Sorry, I forgot a lot of stuff from when I was a kid. But nice seeing you, I guess." He walked away.

Steve stared at the spot Bucky was. What the hell was that?! And the asshole didn't even give him the lock combination. Steve let out a deep breath and put his stuff in the locker anyways, hoping to catch Bucky in between periods.

He went to where he knew Sam's locker was this year, and met Riley. He seemed like a good guy and he was glad Sam had his friend back, just like Steve did, apparently, sort of. Maybe?

After first period he met with Bucky again at the locker. He was already there, getting new books, and Steve took the time to look at him. His hair was obviously much longer than he remembered, and his eyes had bags under them that weren't there before. He just kind of looked… drained.

"I never properly introduced myself. I'm Steve Rogers." He extended a hand to Bucky.

"Uh, James." He said quietly, returning the handshake with little enthusiasm. Steve smiled at him anyway. "Hey, why'd you call me Bucky?"

"Oh." Steve looked away. "We were friends in elementary school. I don't know if you remember, but there were a few James' in our class so everyone at school called you that. 'Cause your middle name is-"

"'Cause my middle name is Buchanan." He met Steve's eyes, barely. "I remember."

"Cool."

"I gotta go to class. But here." He shoved a crumpled paper in Steve's hand and walked off, again.

The paper was a receipt for a pack of gum. On the back was a set of three numbers in messy scrawl. Oh. The locker combination.

Nice.

…

Once lunch rolled around Steve was heading to the cafeteria, but he stopped when he noticed Bucky sitting alone in one of the side hallways, on his phone and ignoring everyone that passed by. With little grace, Steve sat down beside him and opened his lunch. Bucky looked over. "What're you doing here?"

"Uh, sitting with you? Is that okay?"

"I guess. I mean, I'm not stoppin' you."

They sat in silence. Steve ate his sandwich while Bucky did whatever he was doing on his phone. Steve's friends spammed his phone asking him where he was, and a few minutes later all six of them showed up to the hallway, plus Riley.

"Steve? Who's this?" Tony asked. He sat on the ground beside the two of them, as did everyone else. Clint pulled out a deck of cards.

"This is-"

"James." Bucky finished. He looked around at everyone and slouched into himself further.

"Didn't we go to school together? In seventh grade?" Nat asked, giving Bucky a funny look. "Hydra Middle School?"

"Uh, yeah. Natasha right?" 

"Yeah. It's good to see you, James."

He grunted noncommittally and went back on his phone.

"Uhh," Clint started shuffling his deck of cards. "Anyone wanna play spoons?"

…

Everyday, Steve would see Bucky in the morning. They'd exchange a silent greeting, then walk off to their separate classes. When Steve got back to his locker after school, Bucky's stuff would be gone. He never saw him again at lunch. He kept his books neat and out of the way in their locker.

Steve told himself he wouldn't think too much about the whole situation, as it would lead to spiraling guilt and regret, but in reality he thought about it a lot and always felt guilty. Sitting in English class on day, two weeks into school, he spaced out and thought about it.

He wished Bucky would just talk to him and tell him what had happened, but he didn't want to be pushy and ruin any chance at friendship. He also was still getting over the fact that he was not dead, never told Steve he was moving, and suffered memory loss after the accident.

God, what if Bucky just hated his guts, and moving was his opportunity to get away from Steve? Christ, he probably just wanted him to leave him alone… 

"Steve!"

He jumped. Miss Parker, a kind woman in her early forties, was staring at him expectantly. 

"I said, could you please read Brutus' lines?"

"Yes, of course. Sorry miss." She smiled at him and moved on. Thank god most of the teachers liked him, even if Steve didn't really understand why. He opened his copy of Julius Caesar.

…

By the end of the period he decided he'd talk to Natasha after school, as she was probably the most rational of his friends, and she always gave good advice. He supposed he could call Peggy, but she was always busy and time zones made it hard.

As it turned out, Nat came to Steve first, meeting him at his locker at the end of the day and offering to walk home with him.

"Don't you live the other way?" 

She flicked hair out of her eyes, and it blew like flames in the wind. "Yes, but, that's not important. I need to talk to you."

"Okay, shoot."

She looked up at Steve while they walked. "I know how much Barnes means to you, I really do. But he's bad news." 

"What?"

"In middle school…" She paused, collecting herself. "I don't know how you remember him, but when I knew him he was always getting into trouble. He did drugs with all the stoners, got into fights all the time… everyone was kind of scared of him."

Steve stopped walking. "That's not true. Bucky hated kids like that. He'd never do that."

Natasha stopped beside him. "He's not the same kid you remember. Just, be careful okay? And don't forget to send me your chemistry notes!" She walked off in the other direction.

He sighed loudly before continuing his walk home.

…

About a month into school, Steve walked into the library to do homework on his lunch period. He scanned the library, looking for any empty tables, but the clearest spot he found was where Bucky was sitting alone. "Uh, hey. Mind if I sit?"

Bucky looked up at Steve, expression neutral. "No it's fine."

Steve plopped his binders onto the table. "How've you been, Buck?"

"Not bad." He didn't elaborate.

"That's good." They fell into silence, doing their respective work, until surprisingly it was Bucky who broke it.

"I was walking around my old neighbourhood yesterday. Or our old neighbourhood, I guess. It kind of brought back some memories. Of us, I mean." He laughed a little, quietly, and his eyes looked a little more lively than before. "I got to this one corner in front of the variety, you know the one that used to sell 20cent chocolate bars?" Steve groaned, knowing exactly where this story was going. "And I got such a vivid picture in my head of you tripping over the curb and falling straight into a produce display." Bucky cracked up, and Steve couldn't help but join him.

"Oh my god, and my grandma was right there doing her grocery shopping." Steve laughed.

Bucky laughed harder. "She was so horrified, she prete- ahah, she pretended she didn't even know you." 

"Yeah well, at least I didn't fall from the top of the playground and nearly crush some four year old the day after." 

"Oh shut up! You pushed me off!" 

"I did no such thing-"

"James!"

Steve and Bucky both shut up immediately, heads turning to see Brock Rumlow approaching their table. Steve didn't know much about Rumlow because he was a senior that transferred last year, but he was on the football team so they'd interacted once or twice.

"I didn't know you went here." He said to Bucky as if they were friends. Bucky looked uncomfortable. He nodded at Steve. "Rogers."

"Rumlow." Steve said. "How do you know Bucky?"

"Me and James? We're old buddies, all the way back to middle school, huh James?" Bucky didn't say anything. "You should come find me after school, I got some people you should meet."

"I don't do that stuff anymore." Bucky mumbled.

"Huh? What was that?" Rumlow leaned into Bucky's face. "Couldn't hear you there."

Bucky stood up and pushed him away. "I said, I don't do that shit anymore. Fuck off."

"Really? Cause I think you liked it. Hearing people noses break under your fists? Beats sitting alone in the library like a little bitch-"

"Leave him alone!" Steve stood up. Every head in the library turned to look at them. "He said he wasn't interested! Just go away!"

"Steve-"

"Stay out of this Rogers. You don't know him. He's a monster. Broke three kids' arms in eighth grade alone, and gave two of them concussions." Rumlow sneered. "Just come with me, James. It's the only thing your good for."

Steve socked him in the jaw.

…

As it turns out, library staff did not appreciate brawls breaking out in their library. The vice-principal was called to break it up, but at that point Rumlows jaw was turning a nasty yellow, Steve had a nice shiner and a bloody nose, and the entire left side of Bucky's face was starting to swell from where he caught an elbow to the face. Each of them were given a week-long suspension and that was that.

Bucky followed Steve into the boy's bathroom and examine his face.

"My mom's gonna kill me." Steve muttered, holding bloody tissue paper up to his nose. "I haven't gotten into a fight like this since seventh grade."

Bucky hummed in acknowledgement but said nothing.

They stood there for a few more minutes until Steve had to ask. Softly, he said, "Why'd you do it, Buck?"

Bucky leaned against the sink, shaggy hair obscuring his eyes. He frowned. "It's complicated."

"Well, I got nothing but time, now that we can't go to class."

Bucky snorted, but still looked pissed off like he had ever since Rumlow walked into the library. "I still don't totally remember that day. That I hit my head, I mean. Or got hit by a truck, whatever. My mom told me after, that you were there, that we'd gone out to the park or whatever." He looked away. "She looked so sad when I said 'whos Steve?', like I'd just murdered her dog or something." 

Steve said nothing. He held his breath. His nose kept bleeding.

Bucky rubbed his swollen face. "Things came back, slowly. My family just moved upstate the day before the accident, so it was kind of hard to remember when everything was unfamiliar. I remembered my family, my sisters, my parents… I didn't remember algebra or the name of my elementary school, and I didn't remember you for a few years either.

"It was hard, because everyone at school avoided me because my speech was weird for a while, and I couldn't do shit in class because I couldn't remember math or geography or anything. Some of the older kids, Rumlow and this kid named Alex Pearce, took me under their wing."

"But why them? How could you let yourself be pressured so easily into, what, beating up other kids? For fun?"

Bucky pushed himself up and stepped towards Steve. "I did it because that's what I had to do to not be pushed around and spit on everyday. Pearce and Rumlow were scumbag stoners but they were the only friends I had, so I did what they said. You know what, maybe I did enjoy it. He wasn't lying when he said its the only thing I'm good at." Steve opened his mouth to argue, but Bucky wasn't done. "No, don't you dare lecture me on this, Rogers. Not everyone is a fucking saint like you. I'm not the person you thought I was when we were 12 years old, I never was and I never will be."

Bucky walked out out of the bathroom and let the door slam behind him. Steve's nose was still bleeding.

…

He'd been at home stewing for two days when he got a knock on the door. It was pouring rain outside so he tried to open the door quickly, not bothering to check who it was.

Oh. 

It was Bucky 

His clothes were completely soaked through and all his dark hair stuck to his skin. His left cheek was still swollen and now a dark purple. "Hey."

Steve stared for a second before coming to his senses. "Come in before you get sick!" He hassled him inside, shut the door. 

Bucky's teeth were chattering. "I don't want to be long. I just came h-here to apologize."

Steve got him a towel from the closet, gripping it tightly before handing it over. "Apologize for what? I should be the one saying sorry, I mean, how inconsiderate was I being after everything and-"

"Steve." Bucky cut him off. "No. Stop. I'm sorry. I- I'm not mad at you. I realized you probably blame yourself for everything that happened, but you can't. I'm the ass that w-went MIA for five years without even saying bye. When I yelled at you, i was just mad at myself I guess. And at Rumlow… and the world. I shouldn't have directed it at you and I'm sorry." He pulled the towel tighter around his shoulders, dripping water onto Steve's floor. "That's all I wanted to say. I should go."

"Wait," Steve said. He didn't really know what to say, but he didn't want Bucky to leave yet. "You know, I thought you were dead."

Bucky smiled a little. "And I thought you were smaller."

"Jerk."

"Punk."

Steve was full out grinning now. He tentatively hugged Bucky, who squeezed back and made it a real hug. Steve ignored the fact that he was soaked. He was happy. 

"There's something I want to show you."

Steve dragged Bucky to his bedroom. He pulled out a box from under his bed and found the nice print out of the first chapter of Captain America Clint made him for his birthday. He held it out to Bucky.

"You drew this?" He asked, carefully taking it in his hands as if it was sacred. The bottom of the cover read 'Written and Illustrated by Steve Rogers'.

"No, it was the other Steve Rogers."

Bucky looked up at him. "Steve, this is incredible! It's just like…"

"Just like we imagined, I know."

Steve didn't tell anyone this, but he was actually guilty of intellectual property theft, sort of. Captain America and the Soldier were not entirely his characters. It was a game he and Bucky used to always play. Steve would be the Captain, running around with an old garbage lid as a shield, and Bucky would be the Soldier, making gun motions with his fingers.

Bucky laughed a little. He flipped through the pages. "I can't believe you actually made it a real thing. And these drawings are amazing! Steve, we're gonna be rich!"

"We?"

"Yup. We're splitting the profit. Captain America would be nothing without the Soldier."

Steve chucked. "It's good to have you back, Buck."

…

In his third year of highschool, Steve made a new friend. Well, regained would be a better word, but the details were irrelevant. 

After that week, Bucky started sitting at their lunch table. His friends accepted him with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Thor, of course, immediately opened his arms and declared "James! It is so nice to have you join us."

Bucky grinned at him. "Call me Bucky."

"Bucky, then. Steven had told us much about you. Only good things, I promise."

Steve blushed, but Bucky just chuckled and looked at Steve.

Natasha was still a little cautious of him, but she was friendly. Clint was just Clint and tried to use his new card trick on him. Tony was snarky until he realized Bucky's sarcasm level was on par with his, at which point he immediately warmed up to him. Bruce introduced himself politely, and Sam slapped Bucky on the back and asked him if he wanted to be added to the 'spicy meme group chat'.

Things were not perfect. Steve was nearly failing chemistry, sometimes he got into arguments with his friends, and sometimes Bucky pushed him away and didn't want to see him, but overall, life was good for Steve Rogers. His grades in art class were through the roof. He had friends who were funny and loyal and honest. He had his best friend back. 

High school truly was much better than people made it out to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I don't know what this is but here you go
> 
> I don't go to an American high school so sorry for any details I got wrong!!
> 
> thank you for reading :)


End file.
